Raised by the Brawling Bartender
by Gamer95
Summary: Tifa Lockhart has always been a maternal figure to those around her. So how does she respond when a child in desperate need of love and attention comes into her life?


It was a dreary day as a vehicle drove into a driveway and a very angry, obese man walked out, slamming the car door shut. The man growled as he stormed out of his vehicle. He had gotten rejected from the promotion he wanted, he had spilled coffee all over his best suit, and he had gotten a flat tire on his way home from work. He knew who was responsible for his run of bad luck. And he wasn't going to get away with it. The man smirked deviously as he opened the door and slammed it behind him. He walked over to the cupboard under the stair to reveal a small child who started to shake when the door was opened, knowing perfectly well who it was and what was about to happen. "You caused me a lot of trouble today, FREAK." Vernon spat as he grabbed Harry by the throat and hoisted him out of the cupboard. Harry made choking noises as Vernon squeezed his windpipe and restricting air flowing through his lungs. Vernon pulled Harry closer to his face. "And I'm going to make sure your properly punished for it." Vernon spat as he punched Harry in the chest, hurting his already hurting lungs. After that, he threw Harry against the wall as hard as he could, causing a very audible crack. Harry had to do try his hardest to stop himself from screaming out in pain, knowing the consequences would be if he did. Vernon stormed over to Harry and started to punch and kick Harry with everything he had. Harry let out a soft, pitiful, barely audible whimper as the repeated blows shattered his bones. He wished, more than ever, he could somewhere, anywhere else. After a few minutes of damaging Harry, Vernon stopped his assault to go to the living room and came back with a bat he called Mr. Smashy. He aimed it to Harry's head. "Goodnight freak!" Vernon told him as he swung at Harry, only to be blinded by a bright flash of light. "WHAT THE HELL!?" Vernon yelled as he dropped his bat. When the light finally seized, Harry was gone. Vernon let out an enraged roar. When the little freak got back, he was dead.

Meanwhile, on a world called Gaia...

In a bar called 7th Heaven located in a city known as Midgar, the owner of said bar, known as Tifa Lockhart was getting ready to close down her bar for the night with the help with Denzel and Marlene, two teenagers who lived with her in the living quarters above the bar. Just as she had put away the last of the glasses, she heard a sound as if a mystical portal were opening. She looked behind her and low and behold, a mystical portal appeared. Tifa blinked as she examined the portal. "That's strange." was her only reaction to seeing something strange like this. Then right after she said that, she saw a child launched out of the portal like cannonball and smashed right into one of her tables, shattering it to pieces. The child let out a whimper of pain before immediately losing consciousness, bleeding on the hard wooden floor. Tifa's eyes widened as she ran towards the boy, worried about his condition.

"How did you get here...?" She breathed as she knelt by his side. "What happened?!" But she knew she wasn't going to get anything out of the little boy. He was unconscious. She looked him over, and saw that there was blood leaking from his shirt and onto the floor of the bar.

Her eyes widened as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a green marble known as a cure material. She examined it and cringed. 'Crap, this is only a cure material, this won't heal all of his injuries.' Tifa thought as she yelled out. "DENZEL! MARLENE! GET THE FIRST AID KIT QUICK!" Tifa ordered as she turned her attention to the child in front of her. She gently took him off the broken table and felt something pricking the arm that she was using to hold his back. She froze, then gently pulled at whatever it was that pricked her. It turned out a sizeable splinter from the table had lodged itself into his back. Her eyes widened as she stared at it. 'Oh God! I can't use cure while that's in him!' Tifa thought frantically as she knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath, gently placed him facefirst on the floor, then pulled the splinter out.

The second she ripped that large splitter out, the previously unconscious Harry's eyes snapped open and he let out a scream of absolute agony. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The little boy began writhing in agony as more blood flowed onto the floor.

Tifa started to panic at his screaming and held the material tight, praying that it would be enough to make his pain and screaming end. "CURE!" Tifa yelled out as she aimed at Harry. An aura of healing green light enveloped Harry as it started to mend the injuries of the still screaming child. Harry's screams died down, and turned into soft whimpers and sobs of pain. Tifa looked at him in concern as she examined his injuries. While some of the minor scratches and bruises disappeared and the more severe injuries looked a lot better, he was more scars and wounds then boy. 'Just as I thought.' Tifa thought sadly as she looked at the sobbing boy. 'A regular cure materia wasn't enough.' The sound of the little boy's miserable, pained sobbing broke the young woman's heart. She loved children, and to see one in such a condition was devastating. So without hesitation, she picked him up gently and held him in her arms, being mindful of his injuries. This was the sight that greeted Denzel and Marlene when they charged down the stairs with the first aid kit in hand.

"Oh my gosh...What happened?" Marlene breathed.

"He was just shot out from a portal right into a table and had a huge splinter stabbed in his back." Tifa explained without looking away from Harry, who stopped sobbing at this point and was unconscious again. Denzel and Marlene blinked and exchanged confused glances at the bartender's answer.

Denzel then stepped forward and handed her the kit. "So what's this about a portal?" Denzel asked, not completely understanding what she said.

"I don't fully understand what happened myself." Tifa replied softly. "He just sort of...appeared." Denzel and Marlene, who walked towards them and was now beside Denzel, nodded and decided that maybe they should just go with it and see if Tifa needed any help. Marlene opened her mouth to ask. "Don't worry about it." Tifa said. "I'll take care of it." As she said this, Tifa opened the first aid kit and took out the disinfectant spray and medical wrap. By the time she had finished, Harry looked like a mummy. "I think that'll just about do it." Tifa said as she looked at what she did.

"So will he be okay?" Marlene asked softly.

Tifa sighed. "I really hope so." Tifa told her. "But we'll have to wait to see." With that, Tifa picked up Harry and cradled him in her arms. The little boy let out a soft coo and subconsciously snuggled up closer. Tifa looked down when she felt him snuggle into her and smiled as he started to look at peace. Marlene and Denzel saw this and couldn't help but smile too. "...I'm keeping you..." Tifa whispered softly into Harry's ear. Harry stirred for a moment but didn't wake up. Without another word, Tifa walked up the stair and towards her room. She gently pushed the door open, then closed it behind her before approaching the bed and gently placing Harry in it so that his head was on the pillow. She pulled the blankets up over his chin. Tifa quickly changed out of her work clothes and into her night gown. She then got into the bed with Harry and held him to her. He subconsciously made his way over to her and rested his head against her bosom. She smiled and rubbed the back of his head, faintly hearing Marlene and Denzel walking up the stairs and into their rooms for the night. She paid no mind to them, too focused on the child in her arms. She rubbed his cheek as sleep overcame her.


End file.
